Overview of IG fees and charges
When it comes to brokerage fees IG shows a mixed picture: some fees are high but some are low. First you need to figure out your approach or you should use our questionnaire to be able to tell whether IG fees are an advantage for you. Continue reading about IG fees and charges to see if this is the right brokerage for you or a similar broker like eToro or XTB is better for you.
Here's a high level overview of IG's fees
| Assets | Fee level | Fee terms |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 CFD | Low | The fees are built into the spread, 0.4 points is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
| Europe 50 CFD | Low | The fees are built into the spread, 1.5 points is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
| EURUSD | Average | The fees are built into the spread, 0.6 pips is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
| Inactivity fee | Low | $/£12/€14 per month after 2 years of inactivity |
Disclaimer: 79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. CFDs are not provided for US clients. Forex trading involves risk. Losses can exceed deposits.
IG fees
IG fees explained
We compare IG fees with its closest competitors, eToro and XTB.
IG fees
IG trading fees
IG's trading fees are mid-tier which means you need to pay special attention to asset classes with high trading fees.
Let's break down the trading fees into the different asset classes available at IG.
Trading fees
IG's trading fees are average.
It is super hard to compare trading fees for CFD brokers. What we did at BrokerChooser? Instead of quoting long fee tables, we compare brokers by calculating all fees of an example trade for three assets.
For the assets we chose cleverly and arbitrarily:
- Apple, a large US stock
- Vodafone, a large European stock
- EURUSD, a popular currency pair
The example in this context would mean buying a position, holding for one week, and selling it. For the volume we chose a $2,000 position for the stocks and $20,000 for the EURUSD.
This super catch-all benchmark includes spreads, commissions and financing costs for all brokers.
Here is the verdict.
| IG | eToro | XTB | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple benchmark fee | $32.7 | $6.4 | $10.1 |
| Vodafone benchmark fee | $25.2 | - | $10.6 |
| EURUSD benchmark fee | $17.4 | $15.6 | $15.2 |
Financing rates
IG financing rates are average.
If you want to trade on margin and prefer to hold your positions long, financing costs can be significant.
| IG | eToro | XTB | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple CFD financing rate | 6.3% | 10.3% | 7.6% |
| Vodafone CFD financing rate | 4.7% | - | 6.8% |
| EURUSD financing rate | 4.2% | 3.5% | 3.5% |
| EURGBP financing rate | 3.4% | 3.4% | 2.1% |
Leverage is a double-edged sword and can dramatically amplify your profits. It can also just as dramatically amplify your losses. Trading foreign exchange/CFDs with any level of leverage may not be suitable for all investors.
Currency conversion fee
IG will charge a Currency Conversion Fee for all trades on instruments denominated in a currency different to the currency of your account. The fee is charged as the following: 0.5% mark-up.
IG fees
IG non-trading fees
When it comes to looking at all the non-trading fees IG is a cheap broker. This means that they don't charge you a lot for non-trading related activities on your trading account, like withdrawal fee.
Non-trading fees include various brokerage fees and charges at IG that you pay not related to buying and selling assets. Among some others, typical non trading fees are withdrawal fee, deposit fee, inactivity fee and account fee.
| IG | eToro | XTB | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Withdrawal fee | $0 | $5 | $0 |
| Deposit fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Inactivity fee | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Account fee | No | No | No |
IG fees
IG deposit fee
Deposit fees are applied when you send money to your trading account from your bank account. Usually brokers don't charge money for that and IG is not different: you will see the exact same amount on your brokerage account that you sent by any of the deposit methods IG offers.
| IG | eToro | XTB | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank transfer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Credit/debit card | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Electronic wallets | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Deposit fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
IG fees
IG withdrawal fee
Unlike some online brokers we have reviewed IG does not charge a withdrawal fee. This means that you'll see the same amount of money on your bank account that you transferred from your brokerage account.
| IG | eToro | XTB | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank transfer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Credit/debit card | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Electronic wallets | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Withdrawal fee with bank transfer | $0 | $5 | $0 |
IG fees
IG inactivity fee
IG does apply an inactivity fee and it is $/£12/€14 per month after 2 years of inactivity. This means that you need to be strategic about your trading activity to avoid getting charged after a longer time of no trade. The fact that IG charges an inactivity fee makes it less ideal for you if you are a buy and hold investor.
IG has low inactivity fee.
| IG | eToro | XTB | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inactivity fee | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Inactivity fee | $/£12/€14 per month after 2 years of inactivity | $10 per month after one year inactivity. Inactivity means that you don't log in to your account | €10 per month after 1 year of trading inactivity and if no deposit was made in the last 90 days |
Read more about IG inactivity fee on their own site.
