In March 2019 we reviewed two leading online forex broker Plus500 vs IG Markets. Using our trusted review criterias, we have broken down the major features of each broker and given your our recommendations so you can make your own informed decision when choosing a broker.
Beginner Traders Traders who desire risk management tools
1. Risk Averse and Impulsive Traders 2. Traders Wanting Choice From Multiple Platforms 3. Traders Who Require an All-In-One Broker
Spreads + Commissions
Spread Value
8.5
Commission Value
10
Spread Value
8.6
Commission Value
9.9
Execution Speeds
Trading Speed
8
Trading Speed
8
MetaTrader
cTrader
ECN Trading Account
Deal Cancellation
Guaranteed Stop Loss
Guaranteed Negative Balance Protection
No Fees On Deposits + Withdrawals
Stockbroking Services
MetaTrader
cTrader
ECN Trading Account
Deal Cancellation
Guaranteed Stop Loss
Guaranteed Negative Balance Protection
No Fees On Deposits + Withdrawals
Stockbroking Services
Trading Spreads and Fees Plus500 vs IG Markets
When trading there are 3 basic types of fees you will want to be aware of. These are
Trading Fees – These are your expenses when you incur when you trade. These will be in the form of spreads or commissions.
Holding Fees Rates – This occurs if you hold your trading position overnight and have leverage.
No Trading Fees – These include deposit and withdrawal fees, inactivity fees and risk management tools
Let’s review each of these categories one by one.
Trading Fees
Both Plus500 and IG Markets spreads fees are quite low for a market maker however they are high when we compare with a broker that has no dealing desk(NDD). No dealing desk broker include those that use Straight-through Processing (STP), Electronic Communication Broker (ECN) Direct Market Maker (DMA). Plus500 and IG Markets charge higher because they do not charge a commission, instead all expenses are included in the spread.
Average Spreads (pips)
EUR/USD
USD/JPY
AUD/USD
GBP/USD
Plus500
0.60 or 0.00006
0.70 or 0.07
0.080 or 0.000008
0.90 or 0.000009
IG Markets (Standard)
0.75
0.76
0.76
1.117
IG Markets (Forex Direct)
0.263
0.293
0.512
0.992
Looking at the spreads, we can see that Plus500 spreads are generally slightly lower than IG’s spreads for the standard accounts. Using the standard accounts is a like for like comparison between each broker. With the standard account, fees are incorporated into the spread. IG Markets Forex Direct account has the lowest raw spreads as it uses ‘Direct Market Access’ for execution. The narrower spreads that DMA offer can mean greater saving however one does need to consider the commission charges once they are applied. It is also worth noting that Forex Direct is only available to professional or professional traders.
With Plus500 you can calculate the swap fee using following formula ‘Trade size x Opening Rate x Daily Overnight Funding % ‘. The ‘overnight funding time’ and the ‘daily overnight funding percentage’ when you click on ‘detail’ for the trading instrument on your platform.
With IG Market charge an admin fee of 0.3% per annum as part of their holding costs. You can calculate the overnight fee with the formula ‘Trade Size x (tom-next rate + admin fee). The tom-next rate can be found on the platform for the instrument you are using.
No Trading Fees
Plus500 charge the following:
Inactivity fee:
Account
Inactivty Period
Amount Charge
How Often
Plus500
3 Consecutive Months
$10
One off
IG Markets
24 Consecutive Months
$18
Monthly
Funding Charges
Payment Method
Plus 500 Charges
IG Markets Charges
Plus500 Withdrawal Time
IG Markets Withdrawal Time
Debit Card (Visa and MasterCard)
Free
Free
N/A
2-5 days
Credit Card (Visa)
Free
1%
Varies by Bank Processing Time
2-5 days
Credit Card (MasterCard)
Free
0.5%
Varies by Bank Processing Time
2-5 days
PayPal
Free
1%
3-7
N/A
BPAY
Free
Free
N/A
N/A
Skrill
Free
N/A
3-7 days
N/A
Bank Transfer
Free
Free
5-7 days
24 hours
It is worth noting that there is a minimum $450 deposit when using debit, credit or PayPal for IG Markets. There are no minimum amounts for other transactions methods.
Risk Management
Guaranteed Stop Loss Order
Spreads are slightly wider when purchasing a ‘Guaranteed Stop Loss Order’. This wider spread however, might be worthwhile if you lack trading experience or the forex markets is volatile. How wide the spread is will vary depending on liquidity, volatility and other factors for the forex.
Account Features
Plus500 Account Features
Only one type of account is on offer. This account is a personal account type, Plus500 does not offer a corporate account. The main thing to note with Plus500 is they do not allow ‘expert advisors’ or ‘algorithmic trading’. This means if you are a day trader then Plus500 might not be the broker for you.
IG Markets Account Features
IG Markets offer two types of accounts. These are “Limited Risk” and “Plus/Trader” accounts for retail traders. They also offer an account for professional traders.
The ‘Limited Risk’ account requires that you purchase a “Guaranteed Stop Loss Order” when opening position. As you need to purchase a ‘Guaranteed Stop Loss Order’, you cannot use other types of stops such as trailing stops.
Plus/Trader or Standard account, on the other hand, differs from the “Limited Risk” account in that there is no requirement to purchase a ‘Guaranteed Stop Loss Order’ and use all available risk management tools.
Professional or institutional traders have access to the forex direct account. This means they can access forex trading using ‘Direct Market Access’. To use the professional account you must have nets assets of at least AUD$2.5 million.
Plus500
IG Markets (OTC)
IG Markets (Direct Forex)
Commission
No
No
AUD$1per $100 Million
Spreads From
0.6
0.6
0.1
Minimum Balance to Open Account
?
$0
$0
Expert Advisers
No
Yes
Yes
Trade Execution Speed
Fast
Fast
Fastest
Lot Size
0.005
0.1
0.1
Conclusion – Plus500 vs IG Markets
We recommend Plus500 as they offer narrower spreads when we compare with IG Markets. While IG Markets ‘Direct Forex account’ offers narrower spreads, this account is not available to most potential clients.
Both brokers offer low leverage levels by industry standards. While most brokers offers leverage of 500:1. Plus500 offer leverage of 300:1 and IG Markets only offer leverage of 200:1. There is nothing wrong with the brokers offering low levels. Using low leverage is a safe way to trade as you are not taking on excessively high levels of debt. This is great if you are new to trading or don’t want to take risks but high leverage can quickly amplify your profits when used wisely.
Conclusion – Plus500 vs IG Markets
Plus500 offers higher leverage margins when we compare with IG Markets. There is no advantage to select IG Markets when it comes to leverage and margins as you can reduce your leverage with Plus500 if you wish to trade with lower margins.
Plus500 has its own custom trading platform called ‘Plus500 Trading Platform’. The platform is available as a download for Mac and Windows, apps on IOS and Android and via web browsers. One unique feature is that you can access the platform via your Apple watch. Plus500 do not offer popular platforms like MetaTrader 4 and 5 or cTrader, instead have their own platform. Plus500 Trading Platform is unique as it works across different desktops, laptops, mobiles and tablets seamlessly. This means you can easily use the Plus500 trading platform with Windows, Android, IOS, Mac seamlessly.
The ‘Plus500 Trading Platform’ is known for being very user-friendly and easy to use. The main windows allow you to see prices from a wide range of derivatives including forex, commodities and indices all at one time. Other features such useful information such as open positions, pending orders and even trading history can also be viewed. The Plus500 platform can display so much information because it is split into 4 sections. One section shows the prices of currency pairs and is used to make trade orders. Another section shows movements of currency pairs in a chart and indications of likely future price directions. The third section shows account information such as the funds you have in your account and profit and loss information.
One really useful feature is the ability to easily switch between the live account and the demo account. This means you can test trading strategies ‘on the go’ before putting them to practice.
IG Markets Trading Platforms
This broker has one of the largest range of trading platform among all online brokers. Below is a charge showing the range of platforms IG Markets offer and their features
When selecting a platform with IG Markets, the most important thing to be aware of is that you select a platform that will work with your chosen method of trading execution. For example, if you intend to trade forex and use DMA then you will need to use L2 Dealer. If you want to use ‘expert advisors’ or automatic trading then you will use either MetaTrader 4 or ‘RealLivePro’. We tend to recommend MetaTrader 4. MT4 is a proven platform used by more brokers and traders than any other platform in the world. MetaTrader 4 offers great execution speeds, expert advisers and a customisable interface. As a bonus, IG also includes 18 additional bespoke tools with MetaTrader 4. These bespoke tools give you access to more information, charts and management tools than is available on MetaTrader 4.
Conclusion – Plus500 vs IG Markets
IG Markets offer a greater choice of platforms when we compare with Plus500. Most people will only need one platform to trade with so it comes down to personal requirements and preference when selecting a platform. While Plus500 only offer one platform – MetaTrader 4, this platform is the most popular forex trading platform which will easily satisfy all your trading requirements.
Both Plus500 and IG Markets are some of the better brokers when it comes to risk management tools. IG Markets in particular, is strong in this consideration.
In addition to basic risk management tools such as price alerts and stop losses, both brokers offer “Guaranteed Stop Loss Orders” (GSLO). A GSLO which can help protect you against the risk of a major loss. For a small fee (that is part of the spread) the brokers guarantee they will sell your investment at your set limit.
Both brokers allow users to set their leverage however the leverage you set with Plus500 will depend on your ‘Total Position Value’ and ‘Equity’. These values will depend on how much you have the funding you have in your account.
IG Markets also offer really good risk management education. This not only teaches you how to trade responsibility but also how to protect all your investments.
Conclusion – Plus500 vs IG Markets
Both brokers offer ‘guaranteed negative balance protection’ which many brokers do not offer and it is for this reason both brokers are worth considering when choosing a broker. IG Markets, however, do offer a greater range of risk management features and you may consider some of these features useful if you are a risk-averse trader.
Trading with a wide range of instruments or derivatives is available for trading with Plus 500 via its trading platform. These include:
Index – 8 indices include ASX 200, German 30, Japan 225, UK 100, USA 30, USA 500.
Commodities – all the main popular commodities include oil, Gold. Gas and Copper.
Cryptocurrencies – including BitCoin, Ethereum, LiteCoin.
Shares – Australian and International.
Options – include major indices such as Hong Kong 50 and UK 100 and known brands such as Apple, Facebook, Alphabet (Google).
ETF – Over 80 exchange-traded funds and products.
Plus500 offers one of the widest range of cryptocurrencies on the market. Not only do they offer the common cryptocurrencies like BitCoin but they also offer rare ones like Tron, Cardana, EOS and Monero.
IG Markets CFDs
If you have an IG account then you not only get exposure to forex markets but also a wide range of other markets and asset classes. IG is one of the best brokers when it comes to choices for trading.
The following are available
Shares – both Australian and international shares.
Indices – over 31 global indices.
Commodities – At least 26 primary hard and soft commodity markets.
Options – available with indices, shares, forex.
Interest Rates – you can trade on global interest rate movements.
Bonds – You can hedge against government bonds
ETPs, ETF and IPOs – you can access exchange-traded products/funds and initial public offerings.
Cryptocurrency – a range of cryptocurrencies are available for investment.
Some trading platforms work better with certain CFDs so make sure you select the right platform for your needs.
Conclusion – Plus500 vs IG Markets
Both Plus500 and IG Markets offer an extensive range of derivatives or contracts for difference. IG Markets is slightly more extensive but Plus500 are likely to also offer any derivatives you may wish to trade with.
Plus500 will reward you with a bonus for signing on with them. The more you deposit when you sign up, the larger your sign-on bonus will be.
IG Markets don’t have a sign-on bonus however they do have a refer a friend program. With this program, you and your friend will receive trading credits for each friend that you introduce to IG.
Conclusion – Plus500 vs IG Markets.
We like the sign-on program that Plus500 offer. Receiving a bonus simply for signing up and making a deposit is a sweetener that no one complains about.
You can contact Plus500 customer service 24/7 via live chat and email. Plus500 does not provide phone support. We have no real issues with the customer support they provide. We put their customer service to the test and found there were able to answer all our questions quickly and reliably. On the other hand, we found their customer services features lacking.
Plus500 doesn’t offer any dedicated education features. This was a surprise to us as offering a complementary suite of education features is a standard feature of most online brokers nowadays. Given there is a wealth of trading information freely available on the web, it is understandable why Plus500 Markets don’t provide these features. That said, it would have been great if Plus500 did provide these educational tools.
Plus500 offers one of the better demo accounts among all forex online broker. This is because Plus500 does not provide a time or fund limits with their demo account. It is common for demo accounts to have a limit of 30 days and the restriction of available virtual funds. With Plus500, when your account drops to $200, then it will automatically return to the initial demo amount.
Unlike Plus500 which provide 24/7 customer support, IG only provides customer support from Saturday 1 pm to Saturday 9 am. IG, however, do a greater range of contact methods including email, live chat, phone and even twitter support.
IG also provides an excellent range of self-service tools which should allow you to find answers to your questions without the need for customer support. Tools include forums, FAQ, glossary and user guides.
Lastly, IG provides solid education features. IG education suite is part of their ‘IG Academy’. It is quite comprehensive and consists of nine trading courses for both forex and CFDs. You have a choice of different learning tools including webinars and mobile apps.
Plus500 have a policy of no fees when making deposits or withdrawals. The broker advises that users may sometime incur a fee from the payment issuer or merchant. Payment can be made using Debit Card, Credit Card (Visa and MasterCard), MoneyBookers/Skrill, PayPal or through wire transfer. Funding must come from accounts in your name which means you cannot use company or friends accounts. Plus500 have a minimum deposit of $100.
Withdrawals with traditional methods like bank transfer and cards will take one to three business days to complete, this, however, will vary depending on the type of withdrawal. PayPal, Withdrawals and Skrill will take three to seven business day. When making a withdrawal there is a withdrawal minimum of $100
IG Markets unlike Plus500, do have some charges when it comes to funding. Use of credit cards will incur a 1% charge for visa and a 0.5% charge for MasterCard. PayPal will also have a 1% charge. Debit Cards (Visa and MasterCard), Bank Transfer and BPay are free. If you are making using debit or credit card or PayPal then there is a minimum of $500 when making a deposit.
